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Thread: Starting new projects?

  1. #1
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    Starting new projects?

    I have been trying to declutter and of course have lots of boxes of stuff to do in the future, such as yarn box and fabric box.

    So I am trying to start of these things and actually do them, so started a quilt yesterday.

    But I have gotten so focused on decluttering and making things clearer, that it is really hard to start a new project.

    Does anyone else struggle with this--desire to do things but wish to avoid mess?

    Sorry, not explaining very well.

  2. #2
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    After spending time clearing a space and making it photo-worthy, it can be difficult to fill it with a project. So that makes me think about whether I'm really going to have time to work on a new project regularly. The flip side is that having a project in active mode means I'm more likely to work on that than to waste time.

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Yeah, I get it. I want to make slipcovers for our two new-to-us wing chairs, but it entails getting a sewing machine from my DD (I got rid of mine when we moved) buying lots of material and then upsetting my office to create the space for this project. Sewing is a messy business--all those scraps of fabric and thread clippings. I do think that's a mental barrier for me. Otherwise I love sewing.

    I have great admiration for quilters, btw, Tybee. It takes so much creativity and patience. Good luck to you! Forget the decluttering for the moment and enjoy your project.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rosemary View Post
    After spending time clearing a space and making it photo-worthy, it can be difficult to fill it with a project. So that makes me think about whether I'm really going to have time to work on a new project regularly. The flip side is that having a project in active mode means I'm more likely to work on that than to waste time.
    Yes! You get it. I waste too much time on Internet on stupid stuff, and I don't work on stuff I have wanted to work on for literally years! But I hate having the table all messed up.

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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    Yeah, I get it. I want to make slipcovers for our two new-to-us wing chairs, but it entails getting a sewing machine from my DD (I got rid of mine when we moved) buying lots of material and then upsetting my office to create the space for this project. Sewing is a messy business--all those scraps of fabric and thread clippings. I do think that's a mental barrier for me. Otherwise I love sewing.

    I have great admiration for quilters, btw, Tybee. It takes so much creativity and patience. Good luck to you! Forget the decluttering for the moment and enjoy your project.
    I have to use the dining room table, so I have a cutting pad on there that I can fold up, and I guess I will fold it up when I am not doing it. But I did cut strips during the debate, so that was good.
    I don't think I could mess up my office, it would be too confusing for me. I really need dedicated office space and get very thrown when something happens, like when the kids came and slept in there.

    Can you use your dining room table for the slipcovers? I used to love to make slipcovers, and I need to make one right now for this rocking char.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tybee View Post
    I have been trying to declutter and of course have lots of boxes of stuff to do in the future, such as yarn box and fabric box.
    So I am trying to start of these things and actually do them, so started a quilt yesterday.
    But I have gotten so focused on decluttering and making things clearer, that it is really hard to start a new project.
    Does anyone else struggle with this--desire to do things but wish to avoid mess?
    Sorry, not explaining very well.
    Oh, I TOTALLY get you! I'm a quilter, knitter, gardener, cross stitcher. (see what I just posted over in decluttering)

    I am in an online quilt group and there are members who can run 4-12 projects at a time. I joined a challenge with them and having 7 new projects cut and on my table froze me in time. I hated it. I put all but 1 away. Worked on 1 at a time until finished.

    So that is how I work. 1 project on my table and I chip away until done.

    Can you set up a card table in your office for a quilty project? I do find that I work on the project because I have a step ready to sit down and sew. In the past, if I had to get setup, I found I didn't use those 5-20minute segments of time. With stuff ready to go, I do it! And I accomplish so much more-it feels great!

    At my sitting chair is an afghan I started in December. It's about 1/2 way. I also have a scarf started that I haven't touched since late December.

    More than anything, you need to get yourself set up in a way that motivates you to work on your craft rather than paralyze and prevent.

  7. #7
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    In this house, there is a little attic room that is my space so I have some leeway in leaving messes. I decided my winter project would be re-upholstering a MCM chair that had ugly olive green upholstery. Here it is three months later and all the pieces are still laying around. Cushions covered but not re-assembled. The loose back cushion appears lumpy so I will have to have it professionally re-stuffed in order to call it done. I just want to put the whole mess away but hoping my stubbornness will see it through to completion.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    My only projects are knitting scarves so they don’t take up much room. My mom had a second bedroom in her apartment just for her crafts so that the mess was hidden.

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    It is honestly one reason we want a bigger house. My husband has the shed and he can woodwork to his heart's content/ I'd like an art/craft space.

    Gardnr, maybe I can sew somewhere different than where I cut pieces. I use the dr table for that because it's big enough for the fold up cutting board I bought, which is really helping me. But sewing doesn't need the whole table.

  10. #10
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tybee View Post
    I used to love to make slipcovers, and I need to make one right now for this rocking char.
    Wow, I'm going to have to keep that in mind for when I'm stuck.. I've never made one. I've been watching YouTube videos, but I'm still a little intimidated. My goal is to make them before we paint the interior. As I've mentioned before, DH and DS LOVE the crazy quilt walls we have and I want to paint them a neutral color, and I think I'll get far less disappointed push-back if I can have the house all ready with colorful furnishings/accessories to convince them we can still have a whimsical, colorful house even if the walls are off-white.

    As for the space, I'd rather set up a spot where I can close a door, but I do have a great gate leg table in our living space that I can use for the project--it's just that the house will inevitably look messy until the project is done.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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